He may be revered by some and reviled by others, but Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s skills as an orator are rarely in doubt, prompting a local record company to put his speeches on tape for ”good home entertainment”, a newspaper reported on Thursday.
The compilation is entitled Mugabe Speaks and is to be released by recording firm Gramma Records, the state-controlled Herald said.
Minister of Policy Implementation Webster Shamu said the recordings ”would not only provide good home entertainment but would be useful to scholars”, the paper reported.
Some of the speeches date back to the late 1970s, when Mugabe and other key nationalists were waging a guerrilla war against the former white minority government of then Rhodesia.
Shamu said the record ”will assist our children and will also educate people on where we came from and where we are going”.
The authorities have complained in the past that some Zimbabweans — especially those critical of the government — are not patriotic enough.
The Herald did not say how much the compilation — available on CD and cassette — will cost.
However, many Zimbabweans are struggling to afford even the most basic necessities, with prices going up every few days. Bread has nearly doubled in price in shops this week: from Z$29 000 (R2,42) to about Z$50 000 (R4,20). — Sapa-DPA